The present invention relates to an assembly of a plurality of elongated elements fixed in a precise linear array, and to a method of making such assemblies. The invention is particularly useful for making fibre optic heads in which the elongated elements are optical fibres, and the invention is therefore described below particularly with respect to such an application.
Fibre optic heads including a linear array of optical fibres are used in a number of applications. One application is in laser plotters, wherein each optical fibre of the head carries an independently-modulated signal which is transmitted from a stationary light source to a movable recording element in order to record images or patterns. However, laser plotters of high resolution require that the optical fibres be of very small diameter and that the fibre ends be fixed in a precise linear array as any deviation from a perfectly straight line will seriously affect the screen quality and line straightness of the plotter.